


Tripping In Love

by For Fucks Sake Shirogane (Mellowcreep)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, And awkward but like soft awkward, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Friends to Lovers, M/M, They're gay Sharon, very gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 02:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12223683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellowcreep/pseuds/For%20Fucks%20Sake%20Shirogane
Summary: Feelings suck; feelings for someone who you're supposed to be platonic with suck more





	Tripping In Love

**Author's Note:**

> WELCOME TO MY RAREPAIR MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER  
> ok but Hunk/Rolo has become my entire life (besides Dante/Nero lmao) so this is the very tip of the iceberg, expect more soon. Also this is my fic for Potential Zine!

In all his twenty-one years of life, Rolo had never double texted anyone. It was petty, it was annoying, and honestly it smelled desperate. Why was he calling then? Why had he sent six messages in a row and left two voicemails, working on a third? Why did he feel so anxious, yearn for Hunk to just return one damn message? He told himself it was for his health, that he hadn’t shown up for class and that it had him worried. He kept telling himself that lie, praying that if he said it enough it would become the truth.

He knew exactly why Hunk wasn’t answering him, knew why he had skipped class yesterday. He was fine, not sick or injured or even busy. No, he was avoiding Rolo. Hunk had been avoiding him since Friday, had ignored every message and call as if he was invisible. At this point, he was almost convinced he had been blocked, that Hunk was completely done with him now. And he wouldn’t be mad if he was.

Rolo was the one who’d gone and caught feelings, after all.

They had agreed from the beginning, from the time Hunk had pinned him to a wall after class, that this would be platonic. It was just a friends with benefits thing; emotions didn’t need to come along, although anger was welcome when it needed to be let out. It may not have been the most healthy arrangement--there were nights that they parted ways looking like they’d fought--but it was functional. They gave each other what they needed. Until now.

He hated himself for this revelation, disgusted at his emotions for turning on him like this, but he couldn’t help it. Hunk was such a good guy, compassionate and concerned for the people he cared for. He’d seen him almost deck a guy for Lance’s sake and it was equally sweet and appealing. 

Rolo remembered that night pretty clearly; they’d gone to a bar, and someone had picked a fight. In the end, Hunk had been victorious, and they all got kicked out for disturbing the other patrons. They had all walked back to Lance’s apartment, but he and Hunk left soon after, claiming to go their separate ways. They knew no one bought it, knew they’d all known for months now, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t keep up the lie if only to save face.

If only so they could lie to themselves.

 _Himself_ , Rolo corrected himself mentally as he stood up with a groan. He needed coffee. It was late, and he still had a whole essay to write, so obviously his instinct was to turn to Hunk, to procrastinate and push his responsibilities aside, to indulge in the comfort of another person instead. Except that person had left him on read for five days now, and he knew he wouldn’t respond at one-thirty in the morning.

Popping his shoulder, Rolo trudged into the kitchen. If he didn’t write this paper now, it wouldn’t be done by tonight and it was a big grade of his. He poured coffee into his French press and sat back, watching the water spin slowly in the microwave. Any second now...why did microwaves take so damn long? He sighed, frustrated as he ran a rather shaky hand through his hair. Fuck, he was already trembling without the coffee, and the caffeine wouldn’t help him one bit. Crash or shake, he told himself.

Five minutes later and he was stumbling back to bed with a thermos of coffee, staring numbly at the floor. He’d been up for two days straight, and he wanted desperately to tell himself that Hunk wasn’t a part of his newfound sleeplessness. He wanted it to just be his insomnia flaring up again or the mountains of work he had to do for his psychology class. And yes, that was a big part of it as well, he couldn’t deny that. But that wasn’t the full truth and he hated it.

Okay, only five pages to write. He had written out bulletpoints of things he needed to write about already, all nice and neat and in order. They were even in Times New Roman, twelve-point font and double-spaced. Rolo set down his cup and cracked his knuckles, then his neck, and finally his back, before opening his laptop and settling into bed, back pressed to the wall. He went to silence his phone, knowing his group chats would keep him distracted. He hit the home key to turn on the screen only to feel his heart stop immediately

_1:38 am  
Hunk  
come over_

_1:38 am  
Hunk  
rn_

_1:39 am  
Hunk  
im sorry_

_1:39 am  
Hunk  
i rly mean that_

_1:39 am  
Hunk  
wanna tell u to ur face tho_

Oh god, his heart was hammering now. Was this guy serious? Who the fuck was he, ignoring Rolo for almost a week, making him panic over his feelings only to come back suddenly? Well, if he wanted to apologize, the least he could do is hear him out. Yeah, _that’s_ why he was headed over right now, snatching up his keys and coffee in a heartbeat. He wasn’t desperate, didn’t need to see his face or hear his voice. No, he was going for an apology, maybe to scold him a little, then he’d be back to his essay in no time.

He wasn’t in love, no of course not. Being in love was stupid, it was overrated and it was not what they were here for. Love was the soft feeling you got when you see a puppy, or the way your heart stutters when you see a truly beautiful smile. A wonderful, sunny smile, one that seemed to hold the radiance of the sun in it, a smile that had been directed at him a few times and never failed to make him melt.

No, he _couldn’t_ be in love, that why Hunk was ignoring him. If he just swallowed those emotions, pretended it didn’t hurt to do so, like seeing people flirt with him didn’t make him sickly jealous, then the feelings would just go away. He didn’t need love, he didn’t need kindness, he needed good grades and hot coffee and a decent night’s sleep. Sleep in someone’s arms, the way he had been before he’d said the wrong thing, had misspoken and thoroughly fucked himself.

“I love you.” It was a simple enough statement, but when it’d been spoken to Hunk while lying wrapped in his arms, it had felt too heavy, too real, too much like a confession, and that’s everything he feared. Rolo wasn’t really sure how he’d meant it. Friends said that to each other sometimes, right? It was endearing, it was comforting, it was supposed to be platonic, but he knew that deep down it wasn’t, and so had Hunk.

They’d both noticed the subtle changes in their relationship. Hunk was having him over more often and for more than just a quickie. They were watching movies, heading to cafes, going for walks in the fucking park. Rolo groaned, dropping his head against the steering wheel in frustration as he sat at a red light. They had become so domestic, one party making a request for “just chilling” and the other going along without a moment of hesitation, and it had lulled him into a false sense of security. A security that had him speeding across campus just for an apology. And nothing else.

He pulled into the parking space in front of Hunk’s building and idled, car in park but the engine running. He could pull back out, drive down to the store and grab some snacks so that his journey wouldn’t have been completely pointless. He didn’t need to confront his feelings, didn’t need to see Hunk at such a vulnerable hour. Sleep deprived and emotional, that wasn’t going to be good. All he could imagine was yelling, broken dishes and the words “lose my number.” Pull yourself together, Rolo; this wasn’t Degrassi, they could handle this like semi-competent adults.

It was another minute before Rolo could will himself out of his car, coffee in hand as he stumbled up the stairs. Second door on the right, he could get here half asleep and had done that countless times by now. Hunk’s apartment was like a second home of his; he was so used to his dog, his couch, the layout, the smell, that it sometimes felt weird to go back to his own apartment. He lifted his hand to knock when he received another text.

_1:51 am  
Hunk  
its open whenever u get here_

_1:51  
Hunk  
my room_

He felt his pulse pick up as he twisted the knob, finding it as open as he’d been told. Stepping over the threshold, Rolo toed his shoes off and pushed the door shut behind himself, sliding the lock in place. His pitbull ran up to greet him immediately, tail wagging and smacking against the wall. Okay, he couldn’t just pass by the cute dog, he never could no matter how many times he came over.

It took him a solid minute of petting Shay for him to be satisfied with how much affection he’d given the dog. He would be able to rest easy tonight--well, tomorrow; he’d be up all night--knowing he’d not only gotten to pet a dog but had given it plenty of love. Alright, he had come with a purpose. Rolo sighed, standing up and grabbing his coffee off the floor before making his way down the hall to Hunk’s room. Not now heart, now was not the time to become erratic. No one was going to die tonight. Physically, at least.

He pushed the ajar door open and was met with the soft glow of a lava lamp, the one he usually kept plugged in when they spent the night together. It filled the room with pulsing golden light, and he was so transfixed that he almost didn’t see Hunk on the bed. He was, however, very aware of him standing up and moving towards Rolo.

His back was against the door, now pressed shut by their combined weight against it. There were lips against his own almost instantly, as if he’d been counting the seconds until Rolo walked in. Rolo moaned in surprise, nearly dropping his cup at the sudden contact. He’d never kissed like this before, like he was desperately searching for something in Rolo’s mouth. It wasn’t bad, no that wasn’t the problem.Rolo pushed against Hunk’s chest with one hand and he pulled back with a soft gasp, staring down at Rolo’s lips.

“Hello to you too.” He breathed, looking down at the death grip he had on his coffee. Hunk grunted in response, and he could see the faintest frown on his lips. He wasn’t good at hiding things. “So did you call me over to make out or something? Dry spell?” It was hard to keep his tone even, keep the bitterness out of his voice as he spoke. 

His posture changed immediately. Hunk’s shoulders sagged, and he leaned forward, resting his head on Rolo’s shoulder as he sighed a bit too dramatically. It was genuine, judging by how he spoke, but that didn’t make the sound any less over-the-top.

“Fuck you.” Hunk breathed.

 

“Oh okay, you have a condom?” He smiled to himself when Hunk’s shoulders shook with laughter. Point for him.

“Not like that, not tonight.” He murmured. Hunk sat up again, staring down into Rolo’s eyes for a moment before leaning in for another kiss. This one was more hesitant, much slower and gentle, as if he were worried Rolo would shove him away again. When Hunk pulled back again, he pulled away completely, walking towards his window and far from Rolo.

“I’m not mad, and I’m sorry for ignoring you for so long.” He started, staring out the window and into the dark lawn below them. “It’s...nevermind it’s dumb. I apologized, you’re welcome to leave if you want.”

His voice took a cold edge to it instantly, but Rolo knew he was bullshitting. The guy wore his heart on his sleeve, had no clue how to hide emotions to save his life, and that little fault was showing. Rolo wanted to step forward, but that was pushing it. Instead he stayed pressed to the door, taking a sip of coffee before speaking again.

“Is this about what I said? Look, it was in the moment I kinda just sai--”

“You didn’t ‘just say it’ and you know damn well you didn’t.” He snapped, and Rolo froze with his cup inches from his mouth. Hunk’s hands were clenched at his side as he spoke again, softer this time. “At least...I’m really _hoping_ you didn’t ‘just say it’, because that would make this...awkward.”

Wait, timeout. Was he saying…? Rolo opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was escaping him. His heart felt like it might burst from his chest with how hard it was beating. This was a joke, this was some dumb prank to make Rolo say it again so Hunk could embarrass him. He couldn’t feel the same, he couldn’t want the same as him. They couldn’t both fall for each other, that’s not how friends with benefits worked. That defeated the point of “friends”.

Rolo cleared his throat and took a step forward, watching Hunk tense in response. Another step, and his shoulders were hunched again. His hand was shaking, god, it was shaking so bad and Rolo wanted to hold it. It was sappy and cheesy, but he wanted to hold Hunk’s hand, kiss him and tell him those three words again, let this happen and be ok with but god was he scared. 

“...That’s gay, dude.” Smooth, that’s how you respond to a potential confession. Hunk whirled around and Rolo almost dropped his coffee for the second time. He should really put it down somewhere, but Hunk was walking towards him, steps cautious and stopping right in front of Rolo. He looked like he was hiding a smile, and his eyes looked so soft now. Relieved. Hell, he was serious.

“I’m...yeah, you get it, you’re not dumb. So...yeah...I don’t know how to deal with emotions so I just don’t, as you saw. Whether that’s quite literally ignoring them or kissing them away...but if you meant what you said…” There was barely a breath of space between their faces now, just enough that Hunk could speak. He leaned in to kiss Rolo again, much gentler this go round than before, and it felt so strange yet so right. His hand went to Rolo’s hair, holding him still as they kissed. 

As if he’d move; this was the moment he’d been looking forward to and fearing for days.


End file.
